A Force under pressure: Can the Police reform before it’s too late?

The government seems to be giving the Police Force’s leadership and its political leader (the Justice Minister) some time to make meaningful changes to address both the lack of efficiency and corruption within the Force. The new Police leaders, Themistos Arnaoutis and Panikos Stavrou, have the full backing and trust of the President of the Republic. Since they are close to the President, he expects them to take specific steps and offer recommendations for future actions, in coordination with the Minister of Justice, Marios Hartsiotis.

According to Kathimerini's Oriana Papantoniou, everyone agrees that managing day-to-day Police operations is solely the responsibility of the Force itself. For this reason, efforts are being directed toward improving this area. However, the role of the Justice Minister in guiding and supporting these efforts is also seen as very important.

In the past, the former Justice Minister, Anna Koukkidou Prokopiou, faced criticism for allegedly meddling in Police operations, which was one of the reasons for her removal. However, many insiders believe the real problems were within the Police Force, not the Ministry, and felt her dismissal was unfair. Regardless, the government acknowledges that the Police Force has deep-rooted issues, which also raise the question of political responsibility. This is especially relevant to the Justice Minister at the time, under whose leadership several prisoners escaped.

One example of taking political responsibility happened when Kypros Chrysostomides, a former Justice Minister, resigned after a life-sentenced prisoner, Antonis Prokopiou Kitas—nicknamed "Al Capone"—escaped. Kitas had been legally detained at Apollonio Private Hospital for six months when he fled. At first, the President at the time, Demetris Christofias, refused to accept Chrysostomides’ resignation, but eventually, it was accepted after the Minister insisted. In contrast, the current Minister, Marios Hartsiotis, had a different approach when a life-sentenced prisoner, Doros Theofanous, escaped last October. He said resigning would be “a cowardly and easy way out” that feeds populism. Instead, he believes political responsibility means finding mistakes, fixing weaknesses, and working on solutions.

Since then, another two prisoners have escaped, and Hartsiotis recently called a meeting, instructing the new Police leadership to take the necessary steps to make people feel safe again.

Despite these promises, it seems that no real solutions have been implemented, nor have the root causes of the problems been identified. Hartsiotis has now been Justice Minister for a year (since January 10, 2024), which is considered enough time to start fixing long-term issues. However, no one in the government has publicly acknowledged this.

Furthermore, reports suggest that many proposals and studies on solving longstanding problems in the Force, including radical recommendations, are sitting in the Ministry’s drawers. Given this, there’s little justification for allowing more time to “adjust.” Some members of the Police admit that mistakes—like assigning the wrong officers to escort prisoners—have been known to the Ministry for years, but no action was taken. Hartsiotis is under pressure, and it’s clear that any further prisoner escapes will leave the President with no choice but to take stronger action.

For now, the Minister’s reputation hasn’t been entirely damaged, mainly because the escaped prisoners were eventually caught—though this was largely thanks to tips from the public.

Political Parties Demand Action

The Police Force’s problems have been around for a long time and often stem from political favoritism or appointments made to serve party interests. Former Justice Minister Nikos Kosis has said in interviews that every government is to blame for the current state of the Police and that internal problems have always existed. Meanwhile, the opposition party AKEL has criticized the leadership of the Force, pointing to serious systemic issues and asking how many escapes it will take for someone to take responsibility. DISY, another opposition party, has described the repeated escapes as laughable and called on the government to stop making excuses and take responsibility.

Parties supporting President Christodoulides have publicly backed the new Police leadership, issuing statements of support. However, behind closed doors, there are members who feel political responsibility should have been taken, as the fallout from these issues reflects badly on their parties too. With the 2026 parliamentary elections approaching, they are reluctant to tolerate further damage, especially since the last elections showed voters are already unhappy. They insist that visible progress must be made in the Police Force in the coming months to restore public trust and give their parties an advantage in the elections.

1. Nikos Kosis
Term: 9/4/1997 – 24/9/2002
Government: Glafkos Clerides

In September 2002, Justice Minister Nikos Kosis and Police Chief Andreas Angelides submitted their resignations to President Glafkos Clerides. Their decision came in the wake of a scandal involving senior police officers linked to the illegal assembly of luxury vehicles using parts stolen from abroad. Kosis was succeeded by Alekos Siambos.

2. Kypros Chrysostomides
Term: 29/2/2008 – 17/12/2008
Government: Demetris Christofias

The escape of life-sentenced prisoner Antonis Prokopios Kitas, also known as "Al Capone," led to the resignation of Justice Minister Kypros Chrysostomides. Kitas escaped during his legal detention at Apollonio Private Hospital, where he had been hospitalized for six months. Initially, President Demetris Christofias refused to accept Chrysostomides' resignation, but the Minister insisted, and it was eventually accepted. Chrysostomides was succeeded by Loukas Louka.

3. Ionas Nikolaou
Term: 1/3/2013 – 30/5/2019
Government: Nicos Anastasiades

In May 2019, Ionas Nikolaou resigned for what he described as "political expediency." His resignation followed the revelation of crimes committed by a serial killer. Upon leaving, Nikolaou criticized the Police for conducting incomplete investigations into prior complaints. He also stated that he bore no responsibility for how these complaints were handled and was not informed about them by members of the Force. Nikolaou was succeeded by the current Attorney General, Giorgos Savvidis.

4. Emily Yiolitis
Term: 29/6/2020 – 17/6/2021
Government: Nicos Anastasiades

Emily Yiolitis’ resignation as Justice Minister was controversial. In her resignation letter to President Nicos Anastasiades, she cited persistent speculation about her replacement and her perceived role as a "weak link" in the government. She also mentioned that discussions among her associates about potential transfers made her position unproductive and challenging. Yiolitis pointed out that her involvement in a government criticized for its handling of corruption and transparency issues had significantly harmed her reputation. She was succeeded by Stefi Drakou.

5. Anna Koukkidou-Prokopiou
Term: 1/3/2023 – 8/1/2024
Government: Nikos Christodoulides

Anna Koukkidou-Prokopiou's departure was not a resignation but a removal by President Christodoulides. She was held politically accountable for several failures, despite distancing herself from the Police leadership. Incidents in Chloraka and Limassol exposed her shortcomings. Upon her departure, Koukkidou noted that during her 10-month tenure, the Ministry had implemented or initiated 70% of the new government’s five-year program. While she thanked her colleagues, she notably did not express gratitude to the President. She was succeeded by the current Minister, Marios Hartsiotis.

This article was summarized and translated from its Greek original

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